Rolen drives in 3 runs, Reds beat Dodgers 7-2

CASPER

New member
LOS ANGELES – Scott Rolen has become an expert on how to play with pain and discomfort. He's been on the disabled list enough during his 16-year career to have a greater appreciation for the time he does spend on the field.

Rolen got three hits and drove in three runs, leading the Cincinnati Reds over Los Angeles 7-2 on Wednesday for their first three-game sweep of the Dodgers since 2004.

The six-time All-Star third baseman, who has been on the DL six times since driving in a career-high 124 runs in 2004 with St. Louis, had a pair of RBI doubles and a run-scoring single off Chad Billingsley.

"He hit the ball hard today in a couple of big spots to get us on the board," manager Dusty Baker said. "He wasn't moving too good, but he said he wanted to play. That's what pros do. They play even though they're not feeling 100 percent. And we certainly needed him today."

Rolen sat out Friday night's series opener after finishing a game at San Francisco in which he fouled a pitch off his left foot in the second inning. He returned to the lineup Saturday night, contributing an RBI double to a 4-2 victory.

"I can play on it, but it might not be pretty sometimes," said Rolen, who is 15 hits shy of 2,000 and five doubles away from 500. "I might be hobbling around on it a little bit, but I'm not hurt. That's an ankle that I sprained about nine times in high school playing basketball, so it doesn't do too well with swelling. Anytime anything hits it, it goes through the Achilles. I mean, I'm not going to cry about that, but it just loses some mobility and flexibility. But I'm fine."
 
Top